diff doc/FTDI-EEPROM-tools @ 74:0514e3520be3

doc/FTDI-EEPROM-tools: update for current state of FT232R support
author Mychaela Falconia <falcon@freecalypso.org>
date Wed, 16 Sep 2020 23:19:50 +0000
parents 311c800268b8
children df4bf4e06221
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/doc/FTDI-EEPROM-tools	Thu Jul 30 05:12:44 2020 +0000
+++ b/doc/FTDI-EEPROM-tools	Wed Sep 16 23:19:50 2020 +0000
@@ -19,20 +19,25 @@
 
 Some work has also been done toward the goal of being able to program the
 internal EEPROM in FT232R chips (a very popular single-channel USB to UART
-converter needing no external components), but this work has not been finished
-yet, and the present tools should NOT be used to attempt an EEPROM write on
-that chip - the risking of bricking the chip is too high.
+converter needing no external components), but this work should be considered
+experimental: the tools appear to work on an UB232R module from Digi-Key
+(presumably containing a genuine FT232RQ chip) and on a no-name FT232RL adapter
+where the chip is uncertain, but because we have no real production use case
+yet, we are not ready to truly vouch for FT232R support.
+
+More generally:
 
-More generally, our fteeprom-read tool should be able to read out the EEPROM
-content from just about any FTDI chip including FT232R, whereas our
-fteeprom-prog tool should be able to program a user-supplied set of bits into
-any FTDI+EEPROM combo where the EEPROM is a separate chip - but it is NOT safe
-to use on FTDI chips like FT232R or FT-X that have their EEPROM built in.
-Furthermore, if the goal is to generate a new EEPROM config from scratch, as
-opposed to restoring a saved backup, we currently have generators only for
-FT2232C/D and for FT2232H.  (We also have a generator program for FT232R, but
-it is of no use for as long as fteeprom-prog is not safe to use on FT232R
-chips.)
+* our fteeprom-read tool should be able to read out the EEPROM content from
+  just about any FTDI chip;
+
+* our fteeprom-prog tool should be able to program a user-supplied set of bits
+  into any FTDI+EEPROM combo where the EEPROM is a separate chip, or into FT232R
+  internal EEPROM - but it most likely won't work for newer FT-X chips;
+
+* if the goal is to generate a new EEPROM config from scratch, as opposed to
+  restoring a saved backup, we currently have generators only for FT2232C/D,
+  for FT2232H and for FT232R, with the last one considered experimental and not
+  proven.
 
 libftdi dependency
 ==================